This work introduced the potential synergistic toxicity of binary mixtures of pesticides and pharmaceuticals, which have been substantially detected in major river basins in South Korea. Different dose-response curve functions were employed in each experimental toxicity dataset for Aliivibrio fischeri. We tested the toxicity of 30 binary mixtures at two effect concentrations: high effect concentration [EC₅₀] and low effect concentration [EC₁₀] ranges. Thus, the toxicological interactions were evaluated at 60 effected concentration data points in total and based on model deviation ratios (MDRs) between predicted and observed toxicity values (e.g., three types of combined effects: synergistic (MDR > 2), additive (0.5 ≤ MDR ≤ 2), and antagonistic (MDR < 0.5)). From the 60 data points, MDRs could not be applied to 17 points, since their toxicities could not be measured. The result showed 48 %-additive (n = 20), 40 %-antagonistic (n = 17), and 12 %-synergistic (n = 6) toxicity effects from 43 binaries (excluding the 17 combinations without MDRs). In this study, EC₁₀ ratio mixtures at a low overall effect range showed a general tendency to have more synergistic effects than the EC₅₀ ratio mixtures at a high effect range. We also found an inversion phenomenon, which detected three binaries of the combination of synergism at low concentrations and additive antagonism at high concentrations.

In the heterogeneous wireless networked control system (WNCS), age of information (AoI) of the actuation update and actuation update cost are important performance metrics. To reduce the monetary cost, the control system can wait for the availability of WiFi network of the actuator and then conduct the update by using WiFi network in an opportunistic manner, but it leads to the increased AoI of the actuation update. To assess this problem, this paper proposes a priority-aware actuation update scheme (PAUS) where the control system decides whether to deliver or delay the actuation update to the actuator by considering the control priority (i.e., robustness of AoI of the actuation update). For the optimal decision, we formulate a Markov decision process model and derive the optimal policy based on Q-learning. Simulation results demonstrate that PAUS outperforms the comparison schemes in terms of the expected reward.

Increasing global concern over COVID-19 has recently brought greater attention to studies due to the ease of person-to-person transmission and the current lack of effective antiviral therapy. Here, we proposed the application of the adverse outcome pathway (AOP) framework to support re-search on the pathogenesis of viral disease. We first constructed adverse outcome pathways (AOPs) applicable to COVID-19 management to understand whether the infection causes severe acute respiratory distress. Based on the AOP framework where mechanistic elucidation of the pathway from the interaction of chemicals (or viruses) to apical endpoints is represented, our COVID-19 AOP indicated that the molecular initiating event (MIE) was angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) interaction, and the key events (KEs) were the increased pro-inflammatory cytokines in immune cells, with increased mortality as an apical adverse outcome (AO). However, there is still limited information on the toxicity mechanisms of AOPs in COVID-19; therefore, detailed KEs and AOs on toxicity mechanisms will be required to fill these gaps in the data. This study demonstrated that the COVID-19 AOP framework is a suitable tool to design new drugs and to integrate crowded-sourced information for the battle against the COVID-19 pandemic.

Brown leaf spot disease caused by Alternaria spp. is among the most common diseases in potato crops. Typical brown spot symptoms were observed in commercial potato-cultivated areas of northern Korea during June 2021–2022. In total, 77 isolates were collected, and based on sequence analysis of the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region, the collected isolates were identified as Alternaria spp. (83.1%). Phylogenetic analysis revealed that a majority of these isolates clustered within a clade that included A. alternata. Additionally, the ITS region and rpb2 yielded the most informative sequences for the identification of A. alternata. Pathogenicity tests confirmed that the collected pathogens elicited identical symptoms in the field. In the pathogenicity test performed on seven commercial cultivars, the pathogens exhibited strong virulence in both wound and non-wound inoculations. Among the cultivars tested, Arirang-1ho, Arirang-2ho, and Golden Ball were resistant to the pathogens. Furthermore, when testing effective fungicides in vitro, mancozeb and difenoconazole were found to be effective agents for inhibiting mycelial growth. In summary, our findings suggest that A. alternata plays a critical role in leaf disease in potato crop regions and emphasise the necessity for continuous monitoring and management to protect against this disease in South Korea.

Phialemonium inflatum is a useful fungus known for its ability to mineralise lignin during primary metabolism and decompose polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). However, no functional genetic analysis techniques have been developed yet for this fungus, specifically in terms of transformation. In this study, we applied an Agrobacterium tumefaciens-mediated transformation (ATMT) system to P. inflatum for functional gene analysis. We generated 3,689 transformants using the binary vector pSK1044, which carried either the hygromycin B phosphotransferase (hph) gene or the enhanced green fluorescent protein (eGFP) gene to label the transformants. Southern blot analysis showed that the probability of a single copy of T-DNA insertion was approximately 50% when the co-cultivation time of fungal spores and Agrobacterium tumefaciens cells was performed at 24–36 h, whereas at 48 h, it was approximately 35.5%. Therefore, when performing gene knockout using ATMT, co-cultivation was reduced to ≤ 36 h. The resulting transformants were mitotically stable, and PCR analysis confirmed gene integration into the transformant genome. Additionally, hph and eGFP gene expressions were confirmed by PCR amplification and fluorescence microscopy. This optimised transformation system will enable functional gene analysis to study genes of interest in P. inflatum.

The objective of this study is to investigate the aquatic-toxic effects of glyoxal-containing cellulose ether with four different glyoxal concentrations (0, 1.4, 2.3 and 6.3%) in response to global chemical regulations, e.g., European Union Classification, Labeling and Packaging (EU CLP). Tests of the aquatic-toxic effects of glyoxal-containing cellulose ether on 11 freeze-dried microbial strains, Microcystis aeruginosa, Daphnia magna and zebrafish embryos were designed as an initial stage for toxicity screening, and were performed with the standardized toxicity test guidelines. Glyoxal-containing cellulose ether showed no significant toxic effects in the toxicity tests for the 11 freeze-dried microbial strains, Daphnia magna and zebrafish embryos. Alternatively, 6.3% glyoxal-containing cellulose ether led to more than a 60% reduction of Microcystis aeruginosa growth after 7 days of exposure. Approximately 10% developmental abnormalities (e.g., bent spine) in zebrafish embryos were also observed in the group exposed to 6.3% glyoxal-containing cellulose ether after 6 days of exposure. These results imply that <6.3% glyoxal-containing cellulose ether results in non-toxic effects on the acute toxicity of aquatic organisms. However, ≥6.3% glyoxal-containing cellulose ether may affect the health of aquatic organisms with long-term exposure. In order to better evaluate the eco-safety of cellulosic products contained in glyoxal, further studies regarding the toxic effects of glyoxal-containing cellulose ether with long-term exposure are required. The results from this study allow us to evaluate the auatic-toxic effects of glyoxal-containing cellulosic products, under EU chemical regulations, on the health of aquatic organisms.